Almost all agree that this Scripture is talking about the seven year tribulation. On this, I disagree. I do not believe there will be exactly seven years of tribulation; the Bible talks mainly about a 3 1/2 year Great Tribulation. Yes, this verse does talk about the last seven years but notice nowhere does it say there will be seven years of tribulation. It says only that the antichrist will confirm (or strengthen) his covenant (or pledge) for seven years. Do you see it saying there are seven years of tribulation? No you don't and you will not find a Scripture that says that. Go ahead look...I'll wait.
I believe there will be tribulation up until this last 3 1/2 years but the exact time frame of each tribulational event may or may not fit into the first 3 1/2 years of Daniel's seventieth week. To say that it does is nothing more than an assumption.
An interesting comparison that teaches us about the beginning of "the end" is Matthew 24 and Revelation 6. Let's compare the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6. I believe when we do so we will find they are talking about the same events only Matthew's version has some literal details and Revelation's version is largely symbolic.
| SEAL | MATTHEW'S SCRIPTURES | REVELATION'S SCRIPTURES | MY COMMENTS |
Seal 1, False Christ(s)
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Mat 24:4, 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
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Rev 6:1, 2 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. |
I believe this is the release of the antichrist to start his work. The unseen forces of demons will be working in the churches to sow seeds of deception which will later lead to an apostasy (verse 10; 2 Thess 2:3). The world will easily be decieved my multiple deceptions. The antichrist himself will step into a place of world power and prominence to slowly start his work. He will not be known to the vast majority of Christianity at this time. |
Seal 2, War |
Mat 24:6, 7 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom… |
Rev 6:3, 4 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. |
We've been having wars since the beginning of time. However, in the end there will be wars that affect nearly every nation. Possibly the verses of Revelation are talking about a World War III yet to come or it may just be several wars or even national revolts that will affect the world. Eventually it would seem large scale nation versus nation wars are inevitable. |
Seal 3, Famines |
Matt 24:7 ….and there shall be famines… |
Rev 6:5, 6 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. |
This seems to speak of an economic meltdown and food shortages. If a World War takes place previous to this, it would not be hard to imagine food shortages and collapsing economies around the world. But a World War may not happen - it may just be a few countries going to war which will not affect the world economy. This economic meltdown and food shortages may happen for a completely different reason than a world war as we approach the last 3 1/2 years. |
Seal 4, Death |
Matt 24: 7,8 …and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. |
Rev 6:7, 8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.? |
This seems to talk much about disease and natural disasters. Our climate seems to be changing and natural disasters seem to be increasing in intensity and frequency. The word "earthquakes" there could also be referring to winds like hurricanes, storms, and tornados. In Revelation it seems to be talking about events that could kill up to 1/4 of humanity. War, international food shortages, possibly genocide and violence, plus a plague which is described as "beasts of the earth." Could these "beasts" be biological weapons of mass destruction or just some type of natural plague? |
Seal 5, Persecution |
Mat 24:9 KJV Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. |
Rev 6:9 KJV And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: |
This seems to coincide with the beginning of the antichrist's persecution against the Jews and the Church (in that order). Jesus described the event that triggers this persecution which is the Abomination of Desolation. It happens in the midst of the seven years in which the antichrist is strengthening his pledge to many at the 3 1/2 year mark. It is here the Great Tribulation and the Time of Jacob's Trouble begins. |
Seal 6, Astronomical Events |
Mat 24:29 KJV Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: |
Rev 6:12-14 KJV And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; (13) And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. (14) And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. |
These are the astronomical events that immediately precede the Day of the Lord. This ends the tribulation for God's Saints, the Christians, because Jesus returns at this point to rapture His Church. |
Jesus goes on to talk about the time of "great tribulation."
Mat 24:21 ESV For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
It is also described the same way in Revelation:
Rev 7:14 ESV I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
These two verses are the only mention of "great tribulation" in the whole Bible. The Great Tribulation fits best for the time when the antichrist does the abomination of desolation until Christ lands on the Mount of Olives. So what is the duration of this Great Tribulation? I believe the Great Tribulation is described in duration as 3 1/2 years or 42 months or 1260 days based on the following Scriptures:
Dan 7:25 KJV And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Dan 12:7 KJV And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sw are by him that live for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Rev 11:2 ESV but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
Rev 12:6 KJV And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Rev 13:5, 7ESV And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months ... Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,
Notice, there is no mention of seven years of tribulation but over and over and over in the Bible a very specific amount of time is mentioned for tribulation. That time is 3 1/2 years.
Mat 24:20 - 22 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day : For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
The Jewish persecution during the Tribulation time period will be the worse of all time since the world began. It cannot be described in words it will be so terrible. The anti-Semitism of the world will culminate to this 3 1/2 year period and destroy an enormous amount of Jews worldwide, especially in the land of Israel . The Bible has much to say about the Jews during this time period.
Zech 13:8, 9 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein . And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
That means that two-thirds of the Jews will be massacred!
Zech 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
So the antichrist will kill most of the Jews but it gets worse. Many Jews will still not believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and upon these will the wrath of God be poured out after the Church is raptured. Let's look at what God said about the Jew's in Deuteronomy chapter 32:
Deu 32:9 For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
The above verse proves that this passage of Deuteronomy 32 is talking about the Jewish people.
Deu 32:15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Many Jews have and will continue to reject Jesus, the Rock of their salvation.
Deu 32:18 - 20 Of the Rock that begot thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. And when the LORD saw it , he abhorred them , because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be : for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
Deu 32:29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
Deu 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
The wrath of God on the Jews is also spoken of by Paul in the New Testament:
1Th 2:14 - 16 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
However, some Jews will be saved from the wrath of God because they will believe. They will be raptured and will be part of the Church. After the Church is raptured, God's wrath is poured out on all who remain on the earth except the 144,000 Jews that are sealed and the other Christians that become born-again during the Great Tribulation.
Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
These are the actual Jewish people , evident by the description of 12,000 from each tribe (Rev 7:5-8). The Christian church does NOT have 12 tribes. The 144,000 are NOT in any way a representation of the Church.
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:3 - 5 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
It would seem that most of the unbelieving Jews will be killed and the remaining Jews will turn to the Lord as a nation as prophesied by Paul:
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
I know the popular eschatology out there says you're not going to be persecuted. They say we will escape in the rapture before the persecution begins but they are wrong. Sadly they have misinterpreted Scriptures and made assumptions that were just not in the Bible. Then they taught them like they were and built all kinds of theology on top of it but it is a house of cards. They are precious brothers and sisters in the Lord that teach we'll all be raptured before tribulation but sadly they are propagating a false sense of security. We are headed toward a time of great difficulty but the good news is we will be raptured before the seventh seal and all of its trumpets and plagues which constitute the wrath of God.
The Great Tribulation is naturally divided into two sections: the antichrist's wrath and the Lord's wrath. The antichrist does not work for God and God does not use the devil as an agent of Heaven. Therefore, the antichrist's persecution against the Jews and the Church is NOT the wrath of God. The wrath of God is exactly that - only God is doing the pouring out of wrath and it is only against those that are not Christians or of the 144,000. By the time God's wrath begins, we will already be taken in the rapture. (See part 5 for further proof of the pre-wrath rapture of the Church.)
In every single event in which God poured out His wrath in the Bible, NOT ONE SINGLE BELIEVER DIED OR EVEN GOT HURT. Consider Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Egyptian plagues; not once did any of His people die or get harmed. The main thing about God's wrath is that none of His people are ever hurt. So the persecution of the antichrist against Christians is NOT the wrath of God. This is important because many believe the whole tribulation, or the whole seven years, is God' s wrath even through the antichrist but that is a slap in God's face to claim that the antichrist is performing God's wrath! God will not employ the antichrist. God's wrath will only be on the sinners which starts after the sixth seal:
Rev 6:16-17 KJV And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: (17) For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
God's wrath is NOT being poured out during the first six seals. Those seals are the works of Satan bringing tribulation in the earth. So what does the Bible say about Christian persecution?
Understand that Christians will face the antichrist's persecution. It is called tribulation not for the devil's people but for God's. Christians will be persecuted up until the seventh seal, then we will be raptured. However, Christians will also be converted during the Great Tribulation (last 3 1/2) years and they too will be persecuted.
Dan 7:21 I beheld, and the same horn (antichrist) made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Don't let anyone misguide you; these verses are in the Bible. The antichrist WILL persecute believers in Christ which is you if you are here up until the time of the rapture.
Rev 14:6-7 KJV And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, (7) Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
It is apparent that the Gospel will be preached during the Great Tribulation according to this verse. Therefore, people will become born-again Christians during the Great Tribulation. We know for certain people will become Christians during the Great Tribulation because of this verse:
Rev 14:13 KJV And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
You cannot die in the Lord unless you are first alive in the Lord. These people missed the rapture but they will believe afterward. They will become Christians. Then they will be persecuted to the point of death by the antichrist. Their bodies apparently remain on the earth until Jesus touches down on the Mount of Olives at which point, it seems most reasonable, that their bodies will be changed to immortality. I believe many of these people could be the cults like Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses as well as many other people that go to church and think they are Christians but are not. There will be millions upon millions of them. They will have enough knowledge of the Scriptures to know they missed the rapture so they must not have been born-again and will become so quickly.
Many have quoted Matt 24:14 for the current time period. It says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come.” But if we read that verse in context, we find it right in the “middle” of the Great Tribulation time period! Sure, we are preaching the Gospel all around the world now but when the Great Tribulation comes, many more will be saved. I say that because in Revelation chapter seven, also describing a period of the Great Tribulation, it says:
Rev 7:9, 10 After this I beheld, and, lo , a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Where are they? In Heaven before the throne of God and the Lamb. Who are they and where did they come from?:
Rev 7:13, 14 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The word “came” there could also be translated “come” or “are coming”, as in a continual event. So, we have a great multitude being converted during the Great Tribulation from all nations and they will die or be martyred for their faith throughout the Great Tribulation up until the end. The wrath of God will never touch them but the wrath of the antichrist will massacre them. They will stand before the throne of the Lamb in Heaven and worship Him. They will also return with Jesus at the coming of the Lord.
Part 1 - Jews, Nations, and the Church of God
Part 3 - The Tribulation Time Period
Part 5 - The Pre-Wrath Rapture
Part 7 - Christians In Heavens
Part 8 - The Second Installment of The Coming of the Lord
Part 9 - The Millennial Reign of Christ Time Period
Part 10 - The Great White Throne Judgment and a New Beginning